Taxonomy of meanings for 洋:　　

  • 洋 xiáng (OC: sɢlaŋ MC: ziɐŋ) 似羊切 平 廣韻：【水名出齊郡臨朐縣北亦州名本漢成固縣秦爲漢中郡魏置洋州 】
  • 洋 yáng (OC: k-laŋ MC: jiɐŋ) 與章切 平 廣韻：【水流皃又海名又音祥 】

    Additional information about 洋

    說文解字:

      Criteria
    • SEA

      1. The dominant word for the sea is hǎi 海.

      2. Míng 冥 / 溟 are probably wrongly interpreted as referring to the sea, but since this misapprehension has become fairly common the meaning "sea" must be registered for the word in later times.

      3. Xiè 澥 is a rare word referring to a gulf.

      NB: Yáng 洋 refers to the vast ocean, but the word first became current in Song times.

    • ABUNDANT

      ABSTRACT/CONCRETE

      ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL

      HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE

      SPECIALISED/UNSPECIFIC

      1. The general word for abundance of any kind, man-made or natural, concrete or abstract, is shèng 盛 (ant.*xī 稀 "sparse").

      [GENERAL]

      2. Fēng 豐 (ant.*qiàn 歉 "poor natural harvest") refers primarily to the natural abundance of some feature or resource, but in elevated archaic discourse the word may also refer to abundance of sacrifice and the like. NB: The rare fēng 丰 was not homophonous in ancient times, and the meaning emphasises beauty as well as abundance.

      [NATURAL!]

      3. Hòu 厚 (ant. báo 薄 "meagerly supplied with something") primarily refers to man-made or man-caused generous abundance, prototypically in contexts such as hospitality or exchange of presents.

      [ARTIFICIAL]

      4. Yōu 優 (ant.* liè 劣 "in short supply") refers to special (often commendable) abundance.

      [HIGH DEGREE], [ABSTRACT!]

      5. Ráng 穰 often refers specifically to abundance of harvest. See HARVEST.

      [NATURAL], [SPECIFIC]

      5. Pèi rán 沛然 typically refers to the abundance of a flow of things, prototypically rain.

      7. Yáng 洋 typically refers specifically to abundance of water over a wide area, but the word is occasionally used in transferred senses to refer to wide-spread abundance. The image of water remains distantly present.

      [NATURAL], [SPECIFIC]

      8. Wò 渥 (ant. báo 薄 "not very abundant, poorly supplied with liquid or vital energy etc.") typically refers to an abundance of liquids or gases.

      [NATURAL], SPECIFIC]

      9. Duō 多 is the general word for a large number or a large amount of things. See MANY